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State Profile

West Virginia

Population (2023): 1,770 million

West Virginia’s public health outcomes and emergency preparedness are generally worse than other states. The state placed in the low performance tier for public health emergency preparedness in TFAH’s 2024 Ready or Not: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism report. Deaths within the state due to drug misuse, alcohol, or suicide outpace the country as a whole. Based on 2022 data, the percentage of adults with obesity rank higher than the U.S. median. In addition, the rates of diabetes and hypertension rank higher than the U.S. median.

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West Virginia at a glance

13.7

Alcohol-related deaths (per 100,000), 2022

80.9

Drug-related deaths (per 100,000), 2022

18.3

Suicide deaths (per 100,000), 2022

114.8

Deaths related to alcohol, drugs, or suicide (per 100,000), 2022

41.2

Percent of adults who have obesity, 2023

26.0

Percent of children age 10-17 who have obesity, 2020-21

18.3

Percent of adults who have diabetes, 2023

45.4

Percent of adults who have hypertension, 2023

Low Tier

Public health emergency preparedness performance tier (High, Middle, Low), 2023

44.8

Percent of population (age 6 months or older) who received seasonal flu vaccination, 2022-23

Data in Detail

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West Virginia

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